Pashto grammar

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Pashto is a S-O-V language with split ergativity. Adjectives come before nouns. Nouns and adjectives are inflected for gender (masc./fem.), number (sing./plur.), and case (direct, oblique I, oblique II and vocative). The verb system is very intricate with the following tenses: present; subjunctive; simple past; past progressive; present perfect; and past perfect. In any of the past tenses (simple past, past progressive, present perfect, past perfect), Pashto is an ergative language; i.e., transitive verbs in any of the past tenses agree with the object of the sentence. The dialects show some non-standard grammatical features, some of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms that are discarded by the literary language.

Pashto has a rich number of dialects due to which the language has been spelled several ways in English: Pashto, Pakhto, Pukhto.^[1]

Pronouns

Personal pronouns

	Singular						Plural
	1st	2nd	3rd (visible)		3rd (invis.)		1st	2nd	3rd (visible)	3rd (invis.)
			Masc.	Fem.	Masc.	Fem.
(English)	I	you (sing.)	he	she	he (invis.)	she (invis.)	we	you (plur.)	they	they (invis.)
Direct	زه zə	ته tə	دی dai	دا dâ	هغه hağa		موږ\مونږ muẓ̌/mung	تاسو\تاسی tâso/tase[2][3]	دوی dūy	هغوی hağūy
Indirect	ما mâ	تا tâ	دۀ də	دې de	هغۀ hağə	هغې hağe

Demonstrative pronouns

دغه dağa (this)

Direct	دغه dağa
Indirect	دې de

هغه hağa (that)

	Singular		Plural
	Masc.	Fem.
Direct	هغه hağa
Indirect	هغۀ hağə	هغې hağe	هغو hağo

Possessive pronouns

Independent forms

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زما zmâ	زموږ\زمونږ zamuẓ̌/zamung[2]
2nd	ستا stâ	ستاسو stâso
3rd (visible)	د دۀ də də (masc.) د دې də de (fem.)	د دوی də dui
3rd (invis.)	د هغۀ də hağə (masc.) د هغې də hağe (fem.)	د هغوی də hağui

Enclitic forms

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	ـمې -me, -me	ـمو -mo, -mu
2nd	ـدې -de, -dí	ـمو -mo, -mu[2]
3rd	ـیې -ye

Interrogative pronouns

(English)	who	whose
Direct	څوک t͡sok	د چا də čâ
Indirect	چا čâ

Nouns

Case

Pashto inflects nouns into four grammatical cases: direct, oblique I, oblique II and vocative. The oblique I case is used as prepositional case as well as in the past tense as the subject of transitive verbs, and the oblique II case is used as ablative case.

The following table shows the declension of the masculine noun غر (ğar, meaning "mountain"):

	Singular	Plural
Direct	غر ğar	غرونه ğrūna
Oblique I	غرۀ ğrə	غرونو ğrūnō
Oblique II	غره ğara	غرونو ğrūnō
Vocative	غره ğra	غرونو ğrūnō

The following table shows the declension of سړی (saṛai, meaning "man"), a masculine noun with ending "ai":

	Singular	Plural
Direct	سړی saṛai	سړي saṛi
Oblique I	سړي saṛi	سړيو saṛəyō
Oblique II	سړيه saṛəya	سړيو saṛəyō
Vocative	سړيه saṛəya	سړيو saṛəyō

The following table shows the declension of ښځه (ṣ̌ədza, meaning "woman"), a feminine noun with ending "a":

	Singular	Plural
Direct	ښځه ṣ̌əd͡za	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē
Oblique I	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē	ښځو ṣ̌əd͡zō
Oblique II	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē	ښځو ṣ̌əd͡zō
Vocative	ښځې ṣ̌əd͡zē	ښځو ṣ̌əd͡zō

The following table shows the declension of the feminine noun ورځ (wradz, meaning "day"):

	Singular	Plural
Direct	ورځ wrad͡z	ورځې wradzē
Oblique I	ورځ wrad͡z	ورځو wradzō
Oblique II	ورځه wrad͡za	ورځو wradzō
Vocative	ورځې wrad͡zē	ورځو wradzō

Gender

There are two genders: masculine and feminine.

Number

There are two numbers: singular and plural.

Definiteness

There is no definite article. But when necessary, definiteness may be indicated by other means such as demonstratives. Likewise, it may be contraindicated by use of the word for "one", يو; as in "يو روغتون" - "a hospital".

Adjectives

An adjective is called stāynūm in Pashto [ستاينوم]. The adjectives or stāynūmūna agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.

			Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5
Masculine	Singular	Direct	-			-ay
		Oblique II	-a			-aya	-i
		Vocative					-e
		Oblique I	-	-ə		-i
	Plural	Direct
		Oblique/Vocative	-o			-io/-o	-yo/-o
Feminine	Singular	Direct	-a			-əy	-e
		Oblique II
		Vocative	-e
		Oblique I
	Plural	Direct
		Oblique/Vocative	-o			-əyo/-o	-yo/-o

Notes:

• In the plural, both obliques and the vocative merge into a single form.
• Singular Oblique I and plural Direct always merge into a single form.
• The above two conditions mean that there can be at most five distinct forms for masculine adjectives (but in fact, no class distinguishes more than four).
• For feminine adjectives, singular Oblique I and Vocative merge, while singular Direct and Oblique II merge; combined with mergers noted previously, there can be at most three distinct forms for feminine adjectives.
• Classes 2 and 3 have stem and stress alternations among different cases. Class 3 has a basic distinction between the masculine singular Direct, Oblique II and Vocative, with stem stress, and all other forms, with a (sometimes) different stem and with ending stress (e.g. masc. trīx, fem. traxá "bitter"; masc. sūr, fem. srá "red"; masc. sōṛ, fem. saṛá "cold"; fem. raṇā "light" with only one stem). Class 2 has the same stress alternation, but has three distinct stems, with stressed stem vowel 'o' or 'u' in masculine singular Direct, Oblique II and Vocative, unstressed stem vowel 'ā' in masculine singular Oblique I and plural Direct, and unstressed stem vowel 'a' in all other forms (e.g. masc. sing. pōx, masc. plur. pāxǝ́, fem. paxá "ripe, cooked").

Affixes

In Pashto, an affix is called تاړی [tâṛay].^[4] An affix is an addition to the base form or stem of a word in order to modify its meaning or create a new word.

Prefixes

These are attached at the beginning of words. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Prefix	Meaning
نا	a negative prefix to nouns or particles having the same meaning as English "un, in, dis, non" etc
بې	this means "without". When prefixed to words it is equivalent to the English "dis, less" etc
بيا	this means again. When prefixed to words it is equivalent to English "re"
هم	this means same, equivalent. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "co and homo"
ګڼ	this means crowded and numerous. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "multi"
دوه	this means two. When prefixed with the word it is equivalent to the English "bi"

A list of Examples:

	Word	English Meaning	Prefixed Word	English Meaning
نا nâ	وړ	suitable	ناوړ	unsuitable
بې be	کور	home	بې کوره	homeless
بيا byâ	جوړول	to make	بيا جوړول	to remake
هم ham	[زولی [نارينه]، زولې [ښځينه	age	همزولی، همزولې	coeval
ګڼ gəṇ	هېواديز	national	ګڼ هېواديز	multinational
دوه dwə	اړخيز	aṛx= side, xíz = adjective forming suffix	دوه اړخيز	bilateral

Suffixes

These are attached at the end of a word. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Prefix	Meaning
توب	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form masculine concept/abstract nouns.
تیا	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form feminine concept/abstract nouns.
ي	this is affixed to noun to make adjectives.
ي	a suffix also used to create nouns of profession.
يز [masculine] يزه [feminine]	adjectival suffix. Used to make adjectives from nouns. Becomes "yiz" if preceded by a vowel e.g. سوله=سوله ييز
من	suffix that forms nouns and adjectives that mean possessing a quality or object
ور	an adjective forming suffix to show endowment/possession.
ښت	this is affixed to adjectives (including verbal adjectives) to show a state of being
ګلوي	this is affixed to nouns to form feminine concept/abstract nouns mostly to do with association e.g پیژند ګلوي, پلار ګلوي etc
والی	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form masculine concept/abstract nouns.
ولي	this is affixed to nouns and adjectives to form feminine concept/abstract nouns.
ځی	this makes nouns denoting place of the action
نه	this is the most common suffix used to makes nouns from verb. The new suffixed word has feminine gender.
ون	less frequently used than نه. This also creates nouns from verbs
ونکی [masculine] ونکې [feminine]	The verb's or the compound-verb's ل is dropped and this suffix is added to create an agent noun showing that the noun is the doer of the action [example: جوړول to make - جوړوونکی - maker].
اک	this is used to make only two nouns [خوراک and څښاک] denoting consumable noun. Like Japanese particle もの.
تون	used to create nouns of place. Meaning the "(main) place of"
پال [masculine] پاله [feminine]	means someone is the cherisher/nourisher of the word attached. It is like Persian پرست but unlike پرست only used for agentive nouns not as an adjective.
پالنه	makes concept/abstract nouns showing the root's cherishing/fostering. Like Persian پرستي
واکي	makes nouns which signify "mastery of", "rule of" or "endowment with in quality" with the root word. Related to word واک [authority].
وال	makes nouns showing that noun is a resident of that place, is engaged in the activity indicated in the root word, possessor of the root word. Like English suffix "er", "or" and "ist".
ګر	used to form an actor noun. Denoting maker, doer, worker etc of the root.
چي	a agent-noun suffix borrowed from Ottoman Turkish. Only used with borrowed words.
ګوټی	a diminutive suffix. Example مېز [table] - مېزګوټی [small table].
وزمه	suffix to indicate something is like/similar to the root word but not that word. Also used to denote shades of colour.
ګنۍ	suffix for nouns expressing kinship/relationships
وړ [masculine] وړه [feminine]	this is used exactly as the English -able. Forms adjectives meaning fit/able to be done or suitable to.
يالی [masculine] يالۍ [feminine]	forms adjectives from nouns. The adjective shows a quality that can be possessed.
غاړی [masculine] غاړې [feminine]	forms actor/agent nouns that have to do with an art/skill [example: لوبغاړی, سندرغاړی]. Also used to create adjective/nouns related to the throat [غاړه] such as بوږغاړی [harsh sounding]
چک	an adjectival suffix showing that the new word is "somewhat" like the root word. Similar to "ish" suffix in English.
ډله	this means group. It can be used as suffix to denote team, group, company etc
هار	according to Z. A. Pashtoon: "suffix used to form onomatopoeic words indicating the repetition or intensification of a sound". according to H. G. Raverty: a suffix "affixed to nouns signifying sound of any kind, in forming the plural".

A list of Examples:

	Word	English Meaning	Prefixed Word	English Meaning
توب tob	بربنډ	nude	بربنډتوب	nudeness/nudity
تیا tyâ	روغ	healthy	روغتيا	health
ي í	ولس	nation	ولسي	national
ي í	ترکاڼ	carpenter	ترکاڼي	carpentry
يز/يزه íz/íza	لمر	sun	لمريز لمريزه	solar
يز/يزه yíz/yíza	وټه	economy	وټه ييز وټه ييزه	economic
من man	ځاځ	anger	ځاځمن	angry
ور war	ګټه	profit	ګټور	advantageous
ښت əx̌t	جوړ	made/built	جوړښت	structure
ګلوي galwí	پلار	father	پلارګلوي	paternity
والی wâlay	اوږد	long	اوږدوالی	length/height
ولي walí	ورور	brother	ورورولي	brotherhood
ځی d͡zay	ښوول	to teach	ښونځی	school
نه əna	غوښتل	to demand	غوښتنه	demand
ون un	بدلول	to change	بدلون	change
ونکی /ونکې unkay/unka	شنل	to analyse	شنونکی شنونکې	analyst
اک âk	څښل خوړل	to drink to eat	څښاک خوراک	drink food
تون tun	پوهنه	knowledge	پوهنتون	university
پال/پاله pâl/pâla	مېلمه	guest	مېلمه پال مېلمه پاله	host
پالنه pâlana	مېلمه	guest	مېلمه پالنه	hospitality
واکي wâkí	پلار	father	پلارواکي	patriarchy
وال wâl	ليک	writing	ليکوال	writer
ګر gar	کوډه	magic	کوډګر	magician
چي chí	توپ	cannon	توپچي	cannoneer
ګوټی goṭay	کتاب	book	کتاب ګوټی	booklet
وزمه wazma	تور	black	تور وزمه	blackish
ګنۍ ganai	پلار مور	father mother	پلارګنۍ مورګنۍ	paternal-family maternal-family
وړ/وړه waṛ/waṛa	خندا	laughter	خنداوړ خنداوړه	laughable
يالۍ /يالی yâlay/yâlai	ننګ	honor	ننګيالی ننګيالۍ	honorable
غاړې /غاړی ğâṛay/ğâṛe	سندره	song	سندرغاړی سندرغاړې	singer
چک cək	سپين	white	سپين چک	whitish
ډله ḍala	لوب	root word of play	لوبډله	team (sports)
هار hâr	پړک	slap/clap	پړکهار	clapping/sounds of claps

Verbs

• Pashto has three tenses: Past, Present and the Future tense. The future tense is the same as present tense with the exception of markers.
• Aspect: Pashto in every tense has perfective aspect [بشپړاړخ]^[5] and imperfective aspect [نابشپړاړخ]. The Perfective Aspect indicates completion of an action while the Imperfective Aspect indicates continuous or habitual action.
• Pashto Verbs can be classed as Simple Verbs, Irregular Verbs and Doubly Irregular Verbs.
• Verbs [کړۀ] agree in person and in number with either the objects or subjects of sentences, depending on tense and construction. Agreement is indicated with affixes following the verb stem which indicate person and number.

Verbal Suffixes

Pashto utilises verbal suffixes [د کړ تاړې]. It is easy to demonstrate these in Regular Verbs in the Imperfective.

Present Tense

Gəḍēẓ̌ is the present imperfective stem of the verb Gaḍedəl [to dance].

Number	Person	Verbal Suffix	Example	Translation
Singular	1st Person	م əm	زه ګډېږم Zə Gaḍeẓ̌əm	I am dancing
	2nd Person	ې e	ته ګډېږې Tə Gaḍeẓ̌ē	You are dancing
	3rd Person	ي i	دی/دا ګډېږي Day/Dā Gaḍeẓ̌i	He/She is dancing
Plural	1st Person	و ū	موږ ګډېږو Muẓ̌ Gaḍeẓ̌u	We are dancing
	2nd Person	ئ ai	تاسو ګډېږئ Tâso Gaḍeẓ̌ai	Your are dancing
	3rd Person	ي i	دوی/هغوی ګډېږي Dui/Hağui Gaḍeẓ̌i	They are dancing

Past Tense

Gəḍēd is the past stem of the verb Gaḍēdəl [to dance].

Number	Person	Gender	Verbal Suffix	Example	Translation
Singular	1st Person		م əm	زه ګډېدم Zə Gaḍedəm	I was dancing
	2nd Person		ې ē	تۀ ګډېدې Tə Gaḍede	You were dancing
	3rd Person	Masculine	ۀ ə or و o	دی ګډېدۀ Day Gaḍedə دی ګډېدو Day Gaḍedo	He was dancing
		Feminine	ه a	دا ګډېده Dâ Gaḍeda	She was dancing
Plural	1st Person		و ū	موږ ګډېدو Muẓ̌ Gaḍedu	We were dancing
	2nd Person		ئ ai	تاسو ګډېدئ Tâso Gaḍedai	Your were dancing
	3rd Person		ل əl	دوی/هغوی ګډېدل Dui/Hağui Gaḍedəl	They were dancing
		Feminine	ې e	دوی/هغوی ګډېدې Dui/Hağui Gaḍede	They were dancing

The Verb ""to be""

The Verb to be is irregular in Pashto and does not have an infinitive form.

Present Imperfective

Present Imperfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه يم zə yəm زه يمه zə yəma	موږ يو muẓ̌ yū
2nd	ته يې tə ye	تاسو يئ \ ياست tâso yai (in Western dialect - yâst)[2][6]
3rd	دی دی day day[2] دا ده dâ da	دوی دي dūy di

The word شته [shta] is also used; this is the third person singular and plural of the present tense of the verb to be.

Sentence	Literal Meaning	Meaning
پړنګ شته ؟	Tiger there-is/are (exists) ?	Is there a tiger ?
نشته	not-there-is/are	There isn't

Present Perfective form

Present Perfective tense of "to be

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه شم zə shəm	موږ شو muẓ̌ shu
2nd	ته شې tə she	تاسو شئ tâso shai
2nd (command)	ته شه tə sha
3rd	دی شي day shi دا شي dâ shi	دوی شي dui shi

Past Imperfective form

Past Imperfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	زه وم zə wəm زه ومه zə wəma	موږ وو muẓ̌ wu
2nd	ته وې tə we	تاسو وئ\واست tâso wai (in Western dialect - wâst)[2]
3rd (masc.)	دی ؤ day wo	دوی وو\ول dui wu (in Western dialect - wəl)[3][6]
3rd (fem.)	دا وه dâ wa	دوی وې dui we

Past Perfective form

Past Perfective tense of "to be":

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	شوم/شولم zə shwəm/shwələm	موږ شوو/شولو muẓ̌ shwu/shwəlu
2nd	ته شوې/شوې tə shwe/shwəle	تاسو شوئ/شولئ tâso shwai/shwəlai
3rd (masc.)	دی شوۀ/شو day shwə (in Northeastern dialect - de sho	دوی وو\ول dui wu
3rd (fem.)	دا شوه dâ shwa	دویشول dui shwəl

Future Tense

In Pashto the Future Tense [ راتلونکی مهال]^[7] is the same as the Present Tense [اوسنی مهال]^[8] with the exception that in the future tense the marker به [bə] is added; به has a similar meaning to will/shall in English. In the Third Person Future Tense, also, irrespective of number or gender وي is used.

To Be in Future Tense

Future Tense	Present Tense	Pronoun
به يم	يم	زه
به يو	يو	موږ/مونږ
به يې	يې	ته
به يئ	يئ	تاسو/تاسی
به وي	دی	دی، هغۀ
به وي	ده	دا، هغه
به وي	دي	دوی، هغوی

Simple Irregular

These are verbs whose Past Stems differ from their Present Stems like english think vs thought,

a) where ل is replaced by ن in the Present Tense:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
وژل wažəl	to kill	-و وژن wə/we wažən-	-وژن wažən-	-(و وژ(ل wə/we waž(əl)-	-(وژ(ل waž(əl)-

b) where و is added in the middle in the Present Tense:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
بلل baləl	to call	-و بول wə/o bol-	-بول bol-	-و بلل wə/o baləl-	-بلل baləl-

c) The verb ختل [to climb]:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
ختل xatəl	to climb	-و خېژ wə/o xež-	-خېژ xež-	-(و خت(ل wə/o xat(əl)-	-(خت(ل xat(əl)-

d) where دل is dropped in the Present Tense:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfect
پېژندل pežandəl	to know	-و پېژن wə/o pežan-	-پېژن pežan-	-(و پېژند(ل wə/o pežand(əl)-	-(پېژند(ل pežand(əl)-
اوبدل obdəl	to weave	-و اوب wə ob-	-اوب ob-	-(و اوبد(ل wə ob(əl)-	-(اوبد(ل obd(əl)-

Doubly Irregular

These are verbs whose imperfective and perfective stems differ as well as their present and past stems. The difference between perfective and imperfective is carried by stress; in perfective the stress is on the first part of the verb whilst in imperfective the stress is on the last syllables.
Here is list of these verbs with their verbal stems [note without verbal suffix]:
a) ښودل, as a part of the verb.

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
کېښودل kex̌odəl	to put	-کېږد keẓ̌d-	-ږد ẓ̌d-	-(کېښود(ل kex̌od(əl)-	-(کېښود(ل kex̌od(əl)-
پرېښودل prex̌odəl	to leave	-پرېږد preẓ̌d-	-پرېږد preẓ̌d-	-(پرېښود(ل prex̌od(əl)-	-(پرېښود(ل prex̌od(əl)-

b) The verb "to go":

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
تلل tləl	to go	-لاړ ش lâṛ sh-	-ځ d͡z-	-لاړ lâṛ-	-(تل(ل tl(əl)-

c) The verb "to take" [to a place]:

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
بوتلل botləl	to take [to a place]	-بوځ bod͡z-	-بياي byây-	-(بوتل(ل botl(əl)-

Idiosyncratic Third Person Form

Some doubly irregular verbs have idiosyncratic 3rd Person forms in the past forms, parallel to the idiosyncratic forms of the simple irregular verbs.

The list :

Verb	Meaning	Present		Past		3rd Person Sing. Masc.	3rd Person Plural. Masc.
		Perfective	Imperfective	Perfective	Imperfective
راتلل râ tləl	to come (towards 1st Person)	-راش râ sh-	-راځ râ d͡z-	-راغل râ ğl-	-(راتل(ل râ tl(əl)-	راغی râ ğay
درتلل dar tləl	to go (towards 2nd Person)	-درش dar sh-	-درځ dar d͡z-	-درغل dar ğl-	-(درتل(ل dar tl(əl)-	درغی dar ğay
ورتلل war tləl	to go (towards 2nd Person)	-ورش war sh-	-ورځ war d͡z-	-ورغل war ğl-	-(ورتل(ل war tl(əl)-	ورغی war ğay
ننوتل nənawatəl	to enter/get-in	-ننوځ nənawad͡z-	-ننوځ nənawad͡z-	-(ننوت(ل nənawat(əl)-	-(ننوت(ل nənawat(əl)-	ننوت nənawət	ننواتۀ nənəwātə
پرېوتل prewatəl	to fall or to lie-down	-پرېوځ prewad͡z-	-پرېوځ prewad͡z-	-(پرېوت(ل prewat(əl)-	-(پرېوت(ل prewat(əl)-	پرېوت prewət	پرېواتۀ prēwātə
وړل wṛəl	to take	-يوس yos	-وړ wṛ-	-يووړ yowṛ-	-وړل wṛal-	وې ووړ wewoṛ

Infinitive

This is called Kaṛnūmay [کړنومی] in Pashto that is “the name of a verb”.^[9] It shows an infinite action or occurrence. In Pashto the verb acquires the gender and number of a masculine plural noun. They are formed from the verbal root and end with the verbal suffix: ل. Example:

The verb وکړل [past tense of verb کړل - perfective state of "to do"] shows agreement with masculine plural object that is the infinitive وهل.

Type of Infinitives

There are various types of infinitives.

Simple Infinitives

They are in there morpheme state. Examples: تلل [to go], وتل [to go out], ګرځېدل [to walk], ګرځول [to make someone/thing walk] etc.

Prefixed Infinitives

These are formed by attaching a prefix to the simple infinitive. These prefixes are usually directional/locative in nature. Examples:
1. را + تلل = راتلل
Râ [locative towards speaker] + Tləl [to go] = Râtləl [to come]
2. ور+ کول = ورکول
War [locative towards third party] + Kawəl [to do] = Warkawəl [to give]

Compound Infinitives

There are two categories of compound infinitives. There are also some exceptions to these.

First Category

These are formed by adding ول [from کول] and ېدل [from کېدل] verbal-suffixes to nouns, adjectives or adverbs. The attaching noun, adjective and adverb should not end in a vowel. Example:
ښخ [buried, adjective] - ښخول [to bury, verb]

Second Category

These are formed adding auxiliary verbs کول and کېدل to the noun and adjectives. The attaching noun and adjective end in a vowel.Examples:
1. پوښتنه [question, noun] - پوښتنه کول [to question, verb]
2. لېشه [seductive, adjective] - لېشه کېدل [to become seduced, verb]

Exceptions

There are also exception to the attachment of auxiliary verbs on the basis of vowel endings. Example: سوچ کول etc.

Phrasal Infinitives

This is done by adding words with infinitives to make a metaphoric meaning.

Examples	Literal	Meaning
توره کول	to do sword	to perform a brave act
تڼۍ شلول	to tear button(s)	to toil/endeavour

Double Infinitives

These are formed by combining two infinitives.
Either by combining a Simple Infinitive with a Prefixed Infinitive.

Simple Infinitive	Prefixed Infinitive	Double Infinitive
تلل [going]	راتلل [coming]	تلل راتلل [coming and going]
ګرځېدل [to walk/wallking]	راګرځېدل [to repass]	ګرځېدل راګرځېدل [walking about]

Or either by combining two Simple Infinitives.

Simple Infinitive 1	Simple Infinitive 2	Double Infinitive
خوړل [eating]	څښل [drinking]	خوړل څښل [eating drinking]
وهل [beating/hitting]	ټکول [knocking]	وهل ټکول [beating]

Prepositions and Postpositions

Pashto has pre-positions, post-positions and pre-post-positions. Adpositions generally govern either oblique or ablative case assignment to their objects. ^[10]

Prepositions

There are two Preposition in Pashto:
1. د [də] meaning "of"
2. په [pə] meaning "with" and "at"

Example	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
د سړي لاس	Də saṛi las	Of man hand	A man's hand
سړي په چاړې پړی پرې کړ	Saṛi pa čäṛe paṛay pre kəṛ [ko]	man with knife rope cut [past-tense کړل]	The man cut the rope with a knife
په يوه بجه	Pa yawa baje	At 1 O'Clock	At 1 O'Clock

Postpositions

In Pashto there is the dative post-position: ته.

Example	Transliteration	Literal	Meaning
کور ته ځم	Kor tə d͡zəm	House to (i) am-going	I am going to the house

Ambipositions

Pashto uses a significant amount of ambipositions (circumpositions). These usually have two elements, with the noun object positioned between the two elements.

The first element is likely to be ones of these four elements:

Pashto	Transliteration
په	pə
له	lə
تر	tər

The second element is likely to be one of these words:

Pashto	Transliteration
لاندې	lânde
پسې	pasē
نه	na
پورې	pore
سره	sara
کې/کښې	ke/kx̌e
باندې	bande
څخه	t͡səxa

Here is a list of the most common formations:

Pashto	Meaning	Example	Example's meaning
په ... کې	in, at	په سيند کې	in the river
په ... پسې	after	په ما پسې	after me
په ... باندې	on, upon	په مېز باندې	on the table
له ... سره	with	له سړي سره	with a man
تر ... لاندې	under	تر مېز لاندې	under the table
له ... څخه	from	له سړي څخه	from a man
له ... نه	from	له سړي نه	from a man
د ... نه	from	د سړي نه	from a man
تر ... پورې	till	تر پېښور پورې	till Peshawar
تر ... وروستو	after	تر خوراک وروستو	after food

Sometimes in colloquial Pashto, the word له is dropped from نه and سره.

Pashto	Colloquial Pashto
له سړي نه	سړي نه
له سړي سره	سړي سره

The first element must be dropped when the object of the pre-position is a weak pronoun. Examples:

Example Sentence	Meaning
سړی ور سره ځي	A man is going with him/her
سړي ور سره ځي	Men are going with him/her
چاړه مې در نه واخس	I took the knife from you
ليک ور باندې ايښی دی	The letter is on it

Phrases

A number of common phrases translate into English prepositional phrases, which in Pashto consist of combinations of prepositional phrases and additional words.

Some Examples:

Components	Phrase	Meaning	Sentence	Meaning
له..نه + پخوا From+Before	له .. نه پخوا	before	له تا نه پخوا راغله	She came (here) before you
له...نه+ بهرر From+Outside	له ... نه بهر	outside	له ور نه بهر ولاړ و	He was standing outside the door

In phrases that start with the possessive phrase د [də] plus noun, the possessive phrase [də/د] can be substituted for with a weak possessive pronouns. Examples:

	Meaning	Sentence where د not dropped'	Meaning	Sentence with weak possessive pronouns	Meaning
د ... په اړه də pə aṛa	about[note 1]	د سړي په اړه يې څه ووی	What did he say about the man	زما په اړه يې څه ووی	What did he say about me
د ... په شان də pə šân	like	د سپوږمۍ په شان ښځه غواړم	I want a wife like the moon	ستا په شان ښځه غواړم	I want a wife like you

Conjunctions

Pashto utilises conjunctions. These are used as adverbs. Example:

Conjunction	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	English Approximate
هيڅ کله نه	hīt͡s kəla na	nothing when no	never, at no time
که هر څنګه	kə hər t͡sənga	if ever how	howsoever, in whatever way
راځه چې	rād͡za chē	come that	(come) let's
تر اوسه پورې	tər osa porē	till now upto/till	so far, as yet, up till now
تر دغه پورې	tər dağa porē	till this till	as far as this
تر کله پورې	tər kala porē	till when till	till when?, how long?
تر کمه پورې	tər kəma porē	till where till	how far, to where

Syntax

Pashto has subject-object-verb (SOV) word order as opposed to English subject-verb-object (SVO) word order. In intransitive sentences where there is no object Pashto and English both have subject-verb (SV) word order.^[11]

In Pashto, however, all modifiers precede the verb where as in English most of the verbal modifiers follow the verb.^[12]

Phrasal Syntax

Pashto exhibits strong head-final order in noun phrases and verb phrases.^[13]

Noun Phrases

Pashto noun phrases generally exhibit the internal order Determiner - Quantifier - Adjective - Noun.^[14]

Adpositional phrases

The salient exception to the head-final principle can be found in adpositional phrases, given the existence of prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions.^[15]

Verb phrases

Generally, head-final order is found also in the verb phrase, with the verb, if any, as the final element. Relative clauses and sentence-level modifiers may appear in postclausal position.^[16]

Light Verb Constructions

Pashto has a robust system of light verb constructions (LVC), two-word expressions that are semantically interpretable as a single predicate. Only one of the two canonical types—those of the form Noun/Adjective + Verb (N-V).^[17]

As verbs are a closed class in Pashto, the LVC is the only means of creating new verbal forms in the language; it is also used as a way of importing loanwords, with the borrowed word filling the complement slot.^[18]

The inventory of light verbs in Pashto should not surprise anyone familiar with LVCs. In addition to the verbs کېدل /kedəl/ ‘to become’ and کو ل /kawəl/ ‘to make; to do’, which we refer to as the intransitive and transitive verbalisers when they act as light verbs, Pashto uses the verbs اخیستل /axistəl/ ‘to take’, وهل /wahəl/ ‘to beat’, نيول /niwəl/ ‘to seize; to grasp’, and ایستا /istəl/ ‘to throw out’ as light verbs, as in the following examples:

• سا اخیستل - ‘to breathe’ < سا /sā/ ‘(f.) breathing, respiration’
• ڼېل وهل - ‘to push, shove (one another)’ < ڼېل /ṭel/ ‘(m.) push, shove’^[19]

Adjective complements of N-V LVCs always show agreement with the undergoer of the action of the verb, which is in turn marked in accordance with Pashto’s system of split ergativity. Nominal complements are usually treated as the direct object of the verb, and are therefore also case-marked according to split-ergative alignment. The undergoer of the action, on the other hand, cannot be a direct object, as the verb can have at most two arguments; it is instead indicated by an adposition and accordingly case-marked oblique.^[20]

Elements in the verbal group

The verbal group in General Pashto

Certain particles can be inserted between:

• The aorist prefix و /wə/́and its verb.
• A prefix or pseudo-prefix and its verb. (This includes both the a-initial complex verbs and second conjugation, or prefixed, verbs.)
• The complement of a denominal verb and its verbalizer.^[21]

The particles that interact with verbs in this way are:

• The modal clitics به /bə/ and د ې /de/
• The weak personal pronouns, or pronominal clitics م ې /me/ , دې /de/ , یې /ye/ , and مو /mo/
• The adverbial clitics خو /xo/ and نو /no/
• The negatives نه /ná/ and مه /má/

Modals, weak personal pronouns, and adverbials are all second-position clitics. They also obey strict rules of ordering relative to each other. Tegey (1977) reports the following ordering of enclitics between verbal components: خو /xo/> به /bə/> { مو /mo/| مې /me/| دې /de/| یې /ye/} > نو /no/. If the first syllable of the verb does not carry stress (that is, if it is a non-aorist form), the negative precedes the verb, and the clitics follow the negative. Also, if an aorist form is negated, the negative marker—not the initial syllable of the verb—takes the stress.^[22]

Negative placement in the aorist verb phrase

The negative particle نه /ná/ nearly always precedes the verb and is placed as close to the verb stem as possible. In aorist constructions, it therefore follows the aorist marker و /wə/ for simplex verbs, and either initial /a/, the prefix, or the light verb complement for complex verbs. Because it carries an inherent stress, it takes the main stress in an aorist verb phrase.^[23]

Pashto and Borrowings

Contemporary Pashto contains a lot of Persian and Persianised-Arabic^[24] words, although Pashto equivalents for these words often do exist.^[25][26]

"Pure" Pashto	Persian loan	Arabic loan	English translation
هيله híla[27]	اميد umid		hope
اړتيا aṛtyâ[28]		ضرورت zarurat	necessity
تود/توده tod/tawda[29][30]	گرم garm		warm
نړۍ naṛai[31]		دنيا dunyâ	world

Borrowed Phonology

The sounds /q/, /f/ are non-native Pashto sounds borrowed from Arabic and Persian. The phonemes /q/, /f/ tend to be replaced by [k], [p].^[32] So for instance, the Arabic word فرق would be pronounced as /par(ə)k/.

Greeting Phrases

Greeting	Pashto	Transliteration	Literal Meaning
Hello	ستړې مه شې	stəṛe mə she	May you not be tired
	ستړي مه شئ	stəṛí mə shai	May you not be tired [said to people]
Thank You	مننه	manəna	Acceptance [from the verb منل]
Good Bye	په مخه دې ښه	pə məkha de x̌ə	On your front be good
Good Bye	خدای پامان	xwdâi pâmán	From: خدای په امان [With/On God's mercy]
Hello	په خير راغلې	pə xair râğle	With blessing (you) came

Numbers

Cardinal Numbers (direct case, masc.)^[33]

Pashto	Pronunciation
نشت[34]	nasht	0
یو	yaw, yo	1
دوه	dwa	2
درې	dre	3
څلور	tsalor	4
پنځه	pindzə	5
شپږ	špəg	6
اووه	owə	7
اته	atə	8
نه، نهه	nə, nəha	9
لس	las	10
یوولس	yawolas	11
دوولس	dwolas	12
دیرلس	dyārlas	13
څوارلس، څورلس	tswarlas, tswārlas	14
پنځلس	pindzəlas	15
شپاړس	špāṛas	16
اووه‌لس	owəlas	17
اته‌لس	atəlas	18
نونس, نورلس	nunas, nurlas	19
شل	šəl	20
یوویشت	yavwišt	21
دوه‌ویشت	dwawišt	22
درویشت	dərwišt, dreyšt	23
څلېرویشت	tsalerwišt	24
پنځه‌ویشت	pindzəwišt	25
شپږویشت	špagwišt	26
اوه‌ویشت	owəwišt	27
اته‌ویشت	atəwišt	28
نه‌ویشت	nəwišt	29
دېرش	derš	30
یودېرش	yawderš	31
دودېرش	dwaderš	32
دریدېرش	drederš	33
څلوردېرش	tsalorderš	34
پنځه‌دېرش	pindzəderš	35
شپوږدېرش	špugderš	36
اوه‌دېرش	owəderš	37
اته‌دېرش	atəderš	38
نه‌دېرش	nəderš	39
څلوېښت	tsalvešt	40
پنځوس	pindzos	50
شپېته	špetə	60
اویا	awya	70
اتیا	atya	80
نوي	nwi, nəwi	90
سل	səl	100
یوسلویو	yaw səlo yav	101
یوسلودوه	yaw səlo dwa	102
یوسلوشل	yaw səlo šəl	120
دوه‌سوه	dwa sawa	200
دوه سوه او لس	dwa sawa aw las	210
درې سوه	dre sawa	300
زر	zər	1000
یوزرویو	yaw zəro yaw	1001
یوزرودوه‌سوه اوپنځه‌دېرش	yaw zəro dwa sawa aw pindzəderš	1235
لک	lak	100 000
ملیون	milyon	1 000 000
کروړ	kroṛ	10 000 000
ملیارد	milyard	1 000 000 000

Ordinal Numbers (direct case, masc., sing.)

• 1st لومړی lumṛai
• 2nd دويم dwaim
• 3rd دريم drəyam
• 4th څلورم t͡saloram
• 5th پنځم pind͡zam
• 6th شپږم špaẓ̌am
• 7th اووم ūwam
• 8th اتم atam
• 9th نهم nəham
• 10th لسم lasam

Notes

References

External links

• Anne Boyle David, "Descriptive Grammar of Pashto and its Dialects"
• Habibullah Tegey & Barbara Robson ""A Reference Grammar of Pashto"" (PDF).  (1996) Center for Applied Linguistics
• Herbert Penzl, A Grammar of Pashto: A Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan
• Georg Morgenstierne, "'AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧtō'", Encyclopaedia Iranica
• Longnow, Rosettaproject, Pashto, Southern Grammar
• Mohammad Abid Khan & Fatima-Tuz-Zuhra, "Towards the Computational treatment of the Pashto Verb" 18(1) Scientific Khyber Pages: 123-141 (2005)
• Noor Ullah, "Pashto Grammar" (2011), ISBN 978-1-4567-8007-4
• M. Zyar, "ليک لارښود - Writing Guide" (2006)